The mother of a mentally ill, homeless man who used to be a Marine plans to sue New York City for $25 million after he was killed at Riker's Island. The man was a vagrant, and was sleeping in the stairwell of a Harlem housing project. He was arrested for trespassing, and was sent to Riker's Island after he couldn't make the $2,500 bail.

At Riker's Island, he was put in a section reserved for the mentally ill, and he was on psychotropic medicine at the time of his death. He was found dead in February by corrections officers in a cell that was unventilated and was 101 degrees because of an equipment malfunction. He had been left unattended for hours, and was found in a pool of blood and vomit. He died of hyperthermia. Hi mother believes that the city should be held responsible for negligence that resulted in his death. Another recent case at Riker's in which a mentally ill inmate who was locked up alone for seven days died after mutilating himself raises more questions about how the prison handles the mentally ill.

Texas has its own prison issues. At least 14 inmates have died inside prisons that sometimes reach 130 degrees, and several personal injury lawsuits are in the works. Although prisons are not supposed to be pleasant places, they aren't supposed to be deadly either. If an individual is harmed or killed in prison as the result of negligence or intentional misconduct by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, or a county jail, the individual or his or her family may have a cause of action against the state or county.

If you or a loved one has been seriously injured or killed in prison because of mistreatment or poor prison conditions, call the personal injury attorneys at Kennedy Hodges. Our attorneys will be happy to talk with you about your case. Call us today at 713-489-9493, or visit us on Facebook to learn more about your case.